Just to put an end to this: None of what I said was based on any "inside" information.
My post was intended to mock the original poster for his or her ongoing fantasies and to hopefully bring some sanity back to the discussion (such as it was). Therefore, I proposed a nnMP that was eminently reasonable and doable given the current state of technology and my perception of Apple's likely direction. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's announcement (if one comes) looked very much like my scenario.
If we ask ourselves what Apple is waiting for, it's inevitably for "the next big thing." That's what they are always shooting for, and it's pretty clear that they are done with small, incremental updates made just to slap "new" on something.
That next big thing - let's use VR as an example - needs everything to be in place in a balanced fashion. And (almost) everything is indeed in place:
- Intel has a new batch of mildly better chips. (But in retrospect, yeah, while a 6 core for the base machine would be very desirable and mark it as a clear step above the iMac, I'm not so sure Apple wouldn't just slot in a 4-core anyway.)
- A whole new range of I/O is ready (TB-3, USB-3.1, HDMI 1.4).
- Faster SSD's are available, and to throw a bone to cMP users, 2 SSD's could indeed be made to work. Remember that the first generations of Mac Pros had only 2 drives too.
- DDR-4 is way past being available and cheap now.
- It's now possible to create an external 5k display using a single cable.
- VR is up and coming as the hottest thing since the Beatles, and it's a driver of new hardware.
- etc.
That leaves only graphics as a potential hold-up, and it's a source of a lot of the angst about the Pro. Sure, lots of people would like standard, upgradeable, dual GTX-1080s or even more powerful yet-to-be-announced workstation variants. But I don't think Apple will cave on the direction of the Pro. If they are waiting at all, it seems clear that they are waiting until they can embed, nMP style, a suitable solution from the new process node. Performance is a little disappointing compared to boundless desires, but dual 480's at 11 T-flops would fit the Pro's power envelope and are inexpensive enough for a base-ish Pro. It's at least a place to start, and something better could indeed be secretly coming along, too.
Or maybe Apple will drag things out even longer. Suffering is something that happens to us all, but our own expectations and desires are often most to blame. So stay cool during this interminable Waiting for Godot act... it really may never end, after all. Peace.
